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Most read Commonwealth Medicine stories and publications of 2018

December 26, 2018

Let’s press rewind on 2018 and revisit some of the stories that resonated most with our readers in this list of the top 10 most read Commonwealth Medicine news articles, blogs and publications. This year our experts tackled complex issues like criminal justice and health care reform, we welcomed a new executive vice chancellor, and so much more. Take a look:

An overview of MassHealth's introduction of Accountable Care Organizations is the focus of this brief by Senior Director for Health Law & Policy Robert W. Seifert, MPA, for the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. It includes a brief introduction of what an ACO is, the three distinct types of ACOs, who they serve, the services they provide and how they can improve care and contain costs.

Jessica Carpenter, MS, RD, LDN, senior director of LTSS Programs, blogs about the history of Pre-Admission Screening and Resident Review and gives a brief overview of it's processes. Learn about the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 which required state Medicaid programs to implement a PASRR process, the multiple levels of the PASRR process and more.

In an Op-Ed piece for CommonWealth magazine, Warren J. Ferguson, MD, of the Health and Criminal Justice Program provides real world examples of how methadone has proven its efficacy in other states and why this treatment needs to be offered to all incarcerated persons, including those in Massachusetts, with substance use disorder.

Pharmacy experts and researchers set out to identify best-practice guidelines healthcare providers could use when prescribing to patients with substance use disorders to ensure regimens are followed safely and judiciously. The results appear in the journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

The concerning state of criminal justice healthcare in the United States today is the focus of a blog by Julie White, LICSW, senior director of operations for the Health and Criminal Justice Program. With approximately 50% of incarcerated population diagnosed with a mental health problem, and 70% with a history of substance used disorder, she believes new approaches to correctional care are imperative for creating safer communities and reducing rates of crime.

An overview of the managed long-term services and supports national landscape with a focus on our MLTSS best practice framework and the role of LTSS clinical guidelines in that framework. This presentation, created by our LTSS and clinical delivery experts, details the MLTSS national landscape since 2012 as well as some LTSS utilization trends.

This report from the Hispanic Health Council, complied with assistance from health policy expert Katharine London, MS, offers a number of policy recommendations for community health workers for communities that might benefit from community-based services.

Our pharmacy experts have been working on a blog series focused on President Trump’s Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Costs. In this installment of that series, Clinical Consultant Youkavet Samih, PharmD, BCPS, discusses how creating drug competition drives down prices for consumers.

UMass Medical School was selected by the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems to provide medical opinions and written recommendations on disability applications. The Disability Evaluation Services team of more than 75 licensed clinical professionals - including over 30 multi-specialty physicians - is currently conducting quality-tested medical record reviews to determine disability.